Matheus Cunha is doing exactly what he was brought for at Manchester United, but Ruben Amorim will be delighted to see a surprise star matching him in his area of expertise.
Ruben Amorim was pretty clear in his assessment of Matheus Cunha that the Brazilian is a player who can change games in the blink of an eye.
One only needs to look at Wolves’ season without Cunha to judge what a maverick he is, and the player’s comparison to Eric Cantona speaks volumes.
Ruben Amorim on Matheus Cunha
Cunha is a maverick. Cunha does things that are hard to find in some players because he plays with the ball, but he has an aura that can do something to opponent’s heads and that is really important.
Ruben Amorim
Despite scoring just once at Old Trafford so far, Cunha is excelling in doing what he was brought for. However, a bigger surprise is his teammate, who is matching him.
Matheus Cunha is a ball-carrying machine
It has been interesting to note how Cunha has been used almost as a pressure-release valve by Man Utd at times, playing the ball to him and expecting him to get his team up the pitch through challenges.
His ball progression, either through carrying it forward himself via dribbling or passing it forward to break lines, was a key reason why United were attracted to him.
Now more than ten games into the season, it’s fair to say that Cunha has delivered on that skill set and then some.
As per DataMB, Cunha leads the whole of the Premier League when it comes to the percentage of progressive passes completed, with 95.24% of his progressive passes finding the right target.
That is a remarkable figure for a player who plays in the final third, naturally meaning his progressive passes are into more dangerous areas than, say, a defender, for whom a pass into midfield counts as progressive.
While Cunha’s standing at the top of the chart is encouraging, the true surprise is at the third position, just behind Liverpool’s Curtis Jones.
Mason Mount is finding form at Man Utd
With 94.12%, Mason Mount is third on the same list, proving that he is no longer just a runner on the pitch asked to plug the gaps.
His raw output in terms of goals and assists has left a lot to be desired, but he’s starting to find form at United this season.
Be it his goal against Sunderland or his lively cameo against Spurs, where he created two good chances, Mount is starting to add a threat in the final third to his game.
His accuracy of progressive passing speaks of a player who is not just comfortable taking risks in the final third, but is also pulling it off successfully more often than not.
Once he starts getting assists for his efforts and he continues to score like he did against Sunderland, United will finally see the Champions League-winning superstar they thought they were buying from Chelsea.
The upside is extremely high, and the first shoots of that plant are starting to emerge.
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